• Articles
    • Editorial Articles
    • Research Articles
    • WatchGuard Articles
  • The 443 Podcast
  • Threat Landscape
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Contribute to Secplicity

Secplicity - Security Simplified

Powered by WatchGuard Technologies

Backdoor in Pokemon Go – Daily Security Byte EP. 287

July 11, 2016 By Corey Nachreiner

To keep Friday’s story fun, I covered an incident that involves both gaming and infosec. Attackers have already created a malicious version of the popular Pokemon Go app. If you’re an Android user trying to download Pokemon Go from non-official sources, this story is no joke. Watch below to learn more.

(Episode Runtime: 3:16

Direct YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt54wJ3gpsY

EPISODE REFERENCES:

  • Research blog post describing the backdoored Pokemon Go app – Proofpoint
  • Remote access tool found in Pokemon Go – Android Central

— Corey Nachreiner, CISSP (@SecAdept)

Share This:

Related

Filed Under: Security Bytes Tagged With: Backdoor, Hacking, Infosec news, Pokemon Go, Software vulnerabilities, trojan

Comments

  1. chris says

    July 11, 2016 at 2:44 pm

    Why do you keep saying “non official sources” for Android? Nobody checks what goes into google play – you can publish whatever you want.

    Reply
    • Corey Nachreiner says

      July 11, 2016 at 2:50 pm

      Chris,

      That is not exactly right, IMHO, but I do get your point. I do agree that Google Play does get infected apps too, so it is not perfect. However, quite awhile back Google instituted something called “Google Bouncer”
      (More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Play_Store#Application_security). This mechanism is supposed to automatically check Google Play submitted apps for maliciousness. So Google does have an app vetting process that is supposed to try and keep the malware out.

      That said, there have been many cases of malicious apps getting past this, and security research on how to evade bouncer. Nonetheless, I do think you are still much safer with Google Play apps, than some APK downloaded from a third-party forum or something.

      BTW, thanks for the comment.

      Reply
  2. Rob says

    July 21, 2016 at 1:41 am

    Hey Corey,

    From what I understood the influx in users downloading these APKs were trying to get the Beta release from unofficial sources as well as certain regional areas where it was not available. Is this still happening after the public release?

    Reply
    • Corey Nachreiner says

      July 21, 2016 at 1:49 am

      Yes. The initial Pokemon Go release wasn’t global. The app is free, so there is no huge reason to pirate it or get it from unofficial sources, other than the fact that it hasn’t released officially in many regions yet. For instance, I believe it’s still unavailable in Japan and other asian countries (though it’s due to come out around the end of July). Anyway, it’s people in those regions that are likely looking for the APK file to sideload, and thus the smart attackers attaching other things to the APK.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The 443 Podcast

A weekly podcast featuring the leading white-hat hackers and security researchers. Listen Now
the 443 podcast

Threat Landscape

Filter and view Firebox Feed data by type of attack, region, country, and date range. View Now
threat landscape

Top Posts

  • Cybersecurity News: Free Cybersecurity Training, TrickBot Group Exposed, Major GoDaddy Breach, and Russia to Legalize cybercrime?!
  • US National Cybersecurity Strategy
  • 3CX Supply Chain Attack
  • Here Come The Regulations

Email Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest security news and threat analysis delivered straight to your inbox

By signing up you agree to our Privacy Policy.


The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of WatchGuard Technologies.

Stay in Touch

Recent Posts

  • 3CX Supply Chain Attack
  • The NSA’s Guidance on Securing Authentication
  • Cybersecurity News: LastPass Incident Revealed, White House Issues Cybersecurity Strategy, FBI Purchases Leaked USHOR PII Data, and a Slew of Other Breaches
  • An Update on Section 230
  • Here Come The Regulations
View All

Search

Archives

Copyright © 2023 WatchGuard Technologies · Cookie Policy · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use